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This is a sad thing to happen, I have been welding on tankers for a few years now and I have a 12" fan that sits outside the tanker with a 20' hose to purge the tank with fresh air before and while I weld.

jrscgsr, It is the same thing, Tankers for poope trucks, tankers from refineries that are part of the methonal process. My blower pumps out almost 3000 cfm to push any fumes out and to provide fresh air for breathing.
So I'm replacing the air volume in the average tanker once a minute, I let it run for a minimum of a half hour before I even climb inside.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. I am not a fan of welding on fuel tanks but I do it here and there. For ALL tanks I wash them out the best I can with water and degreaser if necessary. I then take a co2 welding bottle or a co2 fire extinguisher and purge it out. Dry ice is acceptable too. One problem is that (especially with gas tanks) even if you fill it with water there can still be gas embedded in the metal and it is VERY explosive then. Even old tanks from junk yards still have fumes embedded in the metal. When I was young I had to do some repairs on Wertgen milling machines and the fuel tanks are part of the frame. I don't know if this was good or bad but basically I was lead to believe it was safer(note: not claiming it WAS safe) to weld these tanks when they were full of diesel with the cap on but loose. You would run a quick 7018 downhill(usually) stringer to seal the crack and then clean it up and put a more sufficient weld on it. Purging with outside air isn't really a good alternative(even though it's a HUGE tank), you need to displace the oxygen with co2. Be safe guys, I see stupid all the time at my work and I swear people are just too TOUGH to do it right. I want to die when my body is nice and warn out....not before that. Dave

I'm sure they aren't cheap, but I've always found using the price of failure to be a good guide in determining how much I'm willing to spend on prevention..

Those Eagle meters are the best way to tell without a shadow of a doubt. I retired from an oil refinery and i was the guy checking the tanks and pipes and signing off on the hot work/confined space permits saying it was safe to weld or go inside. Thats a load on a persons shoulders making sure everything is clear and signed because some contractors don't give a rats butt they just want to weld and leave. This way they are sure to leave walking anyways. And you have to treat every tank different no matter how many times you have done it. Just my thoughts...Bob